Although teachers interact with many people every day, rarely do they collaborate with other teachers or observe their colleagues at work in the classroom. That professional isolation can be troubling to new and veteran teachers alike. In this book, Pam Robbins describes how schools can implement a peer coaching program that serves as a professional support group. She describes peer coaching as a process in which two or more colleagues work together to reflect on current practices; expand, refine, and build new skills; share ideas; teach one another; conduct research; or solve problems. Robbins describes how to get started, outlines logistical considerations, and offers coaching guidelines, conferencing strategies, and training suggestions. She shows how teachers can work together to create a support system that keeps morale high and helps everyone continue to improve their instructional skills.
Pam Robbins' professional interests include leadership development, supervision, developing learning communities, brain research and brain-compatible instruction, teaching in the block schedule, peer coaching, mentoring, promoting quality teaching, and presentation skills. Her teaching career began in 1971 in special education. She later taught intermediate grades and coached high school basketball. As an administrator, she served as director of special projects and research for Napa County (CA) Office of Education and director of training for the North Bay California Leadership Academy. She has lectured at several universities, authored and coauthored books, developed videotapes, and consulted with principals' academies in Alaska, California, Kentucky, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Utah, Pennsylvania, Europe, Great Britain, the Far East, and South America.
In addition, she has provided national and international training sessions for the Department of Defense Education Equity Division, the Ford Motor Company, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the Wisconsin Academy Staff Development Initiative (WASDI), the National Staff Development Council (NSDe, Phi Delta Kappa (PDK), the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
Currently, she is consulting with school districts, state departments of education, educational service centers, and corporations throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Great Britain, and the Far East. She earned her doctorate in educational administration from the University of California, Berkeley.
